Caucuses

Our focus is to address issues that impact the academic life and
well being of faculty of African descent within the CSU and to
build bridges across CSU caucuses that support systems of equity
and social justice.

“Black History Month is a time for celebration, and also for
recognition of and commitment to change, to transformation in our
own lives, for our students, and in our union,” Cecil Canton, CFA
Associate VP-Affirmative Action North, said at a CFA gathering
last week.

CFA urges faculty to take advantage of Black History Month events
on our campuses. Here is a partial listing to give you a feel for
the many kinds of events happening.

CSU DOMINGUEZ HILLS:
A month-long series includes lectures, forums, workshops and
meetings on leadership, health, dance and much more.

The series will feature Dr. Angela Davis on February 11 (4 pm in
the CSUDH gymnasium) who will address “A New Generation Finding
Its Voice.” Dr. Anthony Samad, Executive Director for the Mervyn
Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute on the
CSUDH campus has cordially invited all members of CFA to this
lecture in the ‘Dymally Distinguished Speaker Series.

Also, the CSUDH CFA Chapter welcomes CFA Lead Researcher Aimee
Shreck’s “Data and Demographics Tour” on Wednesday, February 6 at
2:30 pm in the Faculty Development Center. Aimee will present her
demographic findings to the faculty then present at the Academic
Senate. Aimee brings the truth about the decline of
faculty/students of color.

CSU LONG BEACH: The campus Office of
Multicultural Affairs, in collaboration with students and
faculty, offer a month of story-telling, lecture, celebration,
and service. The Kick-Off was Feb 6; next up #BlackHerStories on
Feb. 12, 6-8 pm at the student union. See
the full calendar or call (562) 985-7053.

CSU MONTEREY BAY: Join the campus community
including CFA at the All
Black Gala on February 10 at 6 pm in the campus Ballroom.
This formal event will celebrate Black Hxstory and the immense
diversity of Black culture and brilliance.

This year the program reflects on what lead up to the events in
Ferguson, MO. Keynotes by Michael Brown Sr., Dr. David Ragland,
and Marcellus Buckley (known as the Ferguson Poet).

CSU NORTHRIDGE: Librarians at Oviatt Library are
hosting two panels this month, each on aspects of student safety
in the CSU.

On February 21, 1-3 pm a panel discuss campus safety,
particularly for Black and Brown students, after the unsolved
deaths of two CSU students.The moderator Dr. Martha Escobar
(Chicanx Studies) will join Charmaine Lawson, mother of murdered
Humboldt State student Josiah Lawson; Black LIves Matter activist
Justin Marks; and Saharra White, partner of Quinten Thomas, a CSU
Northridge student who died under suspicious circumstances while
in police custody at the Twin Towers last March 9.
#justice@CSU

On February 28, 2-4 pm the panel is “Empty Your Pockets, Show Me
Your Papers: Building Student Trust on Campus.” Natalie
Mason-Kinsey , CSUN Chief Diversity Officer) will moderate a
conversation among a CSUN police officer and student
activist/leaders from the Black Student Union, Chicanx Studies
and CSUN Hillel. This will be and open and honest discussion
about student safety on campus, in the community and the
relationship between students and campus police. A reception with
food and drink will follow.

CAL POLY POMONA: The African American Student
Center offers a calendar
of empowerment and educational events throughout this academic
term.

Coming right up is BLERD week (Black-Nerd) the week of Feb.18-22.
It features a luncheon and exchanges of books and podcasts on
Black themes. The month culminates Feb. 28 with a talk on the
experience at the nexus of being both Black and undocumented.
See
the full calendar.

SACRAMENTO STATE: Events are popping up on
campus sponsored by various organizations, institutes and
departments. Two notables are:

A free
performance of “The Langston Hughes Project,” written by
Ron McCurdy, on Thursday, February 14 in the University Union
Ballroom. This multi-media concert is an homage to the struggle
for artistic and social freedom that applies images to Langston
Hughes’ already famous poetry.

Dr. Bettina Love speaks on
“Hip
Hop, Civics & Academic Success” on Monday, February 18,
3-4:30 pm in the University Union. The Centers for Inclusion
and Diversity sponsor the education faculty member from the U.
of Georgia who brings to Sacramento insights from her study
about urban youth education and social justice.

CSU SAN BERNARDINO: Students and faculty
report there will be free Black History Month events this
month on everything from financial literacy to political realism
to the politics of food.

A main event is Thursday, February 7, when the campus presents
nationally recognized speaker, minister and activist, Nyle Fort,
on “Race, Protest and Democracy.” The highly recommended talk is
part of the Conversations on Diversity program, held 12-1:30 pm
at Santos Manuel Student Union Event Center.

CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO: As part of the
university’s continuous commitment to diversity and inclusion,
the College of LIberal Arts will hold the third “‘Inclusion Starts with Me’
Teach In” on Thursday, February 21, 2019 from 8 am-8 pm.

Panels of Faculty across many fields will address a broad range
of topics regarding inclusion, social justice, and representation
in activism for change, art and film, the sciences, law, and
history.

Faculty from biology, including CFA members, will discuss
the controversial legacy of the biological sciences, including
eugenics, militarization, and assumptions about biological race.
Biology faculty also will take up the history of feminism in
biology.

The API Caucus provides a forum for the inclusive community of
Asian and Pacific Islander CSU faculty to join the voices of
other CFA caucuses in promoting equity and social justice on
campuses and CSU systemwide. The API Caucus seeks to mentor API
faculty and students in their professional and academic
development, and to encourage their active participation and
leadership in the CFA. Additionally, the API Caucus embraces
outreach and advocacy to address and effectively resolve issues
facing API faculty and students as Faculty and Students of Color.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and faculty
activists are engaging in events, honoring the achievements and
contributions of their colleagues, and highlighting issues that
continue to impact the API community.

In March, I was asked to contribute to CFA’s
podcast, Radio Free CSU:
Stronger Together, a multi-part podcast series in which CFA
leaders discuss the principles that guide our anti-racism and
social justice transformation. For my episode, I discussed how
CFA intertwines our anti-racism and social justice values into
our organizational goals, policies, and practices.

The CFA Chicanx/Latinx Caucus (Chx/LxC) formed in 2002. The caucus is a critical space for Chicanx/Latinx faculty at CSU to come together, voice our and our people’s concerns and aspirations, assert our needs both as faculty and as part of the Chicanx/Latinx community, all with the full support of our faculty union. In this and other ways, CFA is effectively championing and becoming an example of diversity both within CSU and in our society.

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I was a student at Roosevelt High School in 1967-68, and I first
became aware of Sal Castro, during the Blow-outs and at Camp Hess
Kramer, at Chicano Youth Leadership Camp. I was present
during the meetings, rallies, and marches that followed the
Walkouts and the arrests of Sal and others. However, my
relationship with Sal began during the summer of 1968, when I
attended the Upward Bound Program at UCLA. Sal was one of
my teachers,

The purpose of the Disability Caucus is to identify and address
issues that impact the academic life and well-being of CSU
faculty with disabilities.

While the needs of disabled CSU students have rightfully received
generous attention and accommodation in recent years, disabled
CSU faculty remain to a great extent unacknowledged and
underserved. The Disability Caucus aims, primarily, to provide
faculty with disabilities with information about their rights to
accommodation and how to go about seeking it. We invite disabled
faculty to look to us for a sense of community, a refuge where
they are safe from stigma and the risks of self-disclosure to
administrators, students, and colleagues. We also intend to raise
awareness in both the CFA and the CSU of the issues surrounding
faculty disability, as well as each institution’s obligations,
under the Americans with Disabilities Act and CSU policy, to
provide reasonable accommodation of those needs.

Disability comes in many forms – temporary or permanent; mild or
severe; visible (e.g., mobility impairment; severe visual
impairment) or invisible (ranging from hearing impairment to
illnesses such as asthma, cancer, or severe allergies, to
psychiatric disorders). Along with the life challenges such
impairments present, disabled faculty must live with anxiety
surrounding their acceptance by those around them, and even
potential threats to their retention and promotion. Our mission
is to help them with their immediate needs, while striving to
increase understanding of, and respect for, disabled faculty
among administrators, colleagues, and students.

Vision Statement

The Mission of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus is to advocate for
and legitimatize a place for the full recognition of the
diversity represented by Indigenous Peoples in the California
State University (CSU) system. The Indigenous Peoples Caucus
seeks to mobilize CFA support of Native Nations and Indigenous
Sovereignty, and acknowledge Indigenous rights to land, water and
life.

The IPC officially launched their efforts toward the CFA’s
commitment to antiracism and social justice work by showcasing
the movie More Than A Word
(MTAW) at the 2018 Equity Conference in Los Angeles
California on March 16th 2018.

The Mission of the LGBT caucus is to advocate for and
legitimatize a place for the recognition of the aspect of
diversity represented by the presence of LGBT individuals in the
CSU system. To recognize that LGBT individuals come from all
communities and that many LGBT individuals will not be “out” in
their workplace; this does not diminish these individuals’ need
for the same protections. The caucus works towards a CSU which
provides a safe environment for all members of the CSU community
and fosters scholarship in issues relating to LGBT life and
issues.

This conference, which will be held May 4 at CSU Stanislaus, will
bring together the local and regional transgender and
gender-nonconforming community and their allies for education,
advocacy and community building.

There also will be a special focus on the ethnic diversity of the
region.

As a prospective student, it’s your job to find a college where
you can thrive. This is particularly important for those who
identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ).
Additionally, not all universities create supportive environments
for students who identify as intersex, pansexual, asexual,
questioning or have a non-conforming gender identity. College is
challenging and expensive for everyone, but if you’re LGBTQ, the
campus climate can make– or break– your experience.

The CFA Teacher Education Caucus is a group of teacher educators and allies who envision public schools as sites for promoting social justice, and want to mobilize the support of CFA to resist recent state and national legislation crafted by the far right.